Supermarkets told to cut 100 calories from shoppers' baskets

Telegraph

5 hours ago

Supermarkets will be ordered to cut up to 100 calories from the average shopping basket under a new 'nanny state' drive to tackle obesity.
Ministers are set to impose a 'healthy food standard' that will force stores to curtail sales of sugary and salty snacks in favour of more fruit and vegetables.
Shops failing to meet the mandatory targets could face fines, which retail sources warned could see prices rise.
The measures will form the backbone of a 10-year plan to improve the nation's health, which will be unveiled by Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, this week. Downing Street hopes the changes can help avert the need for future tax rises by slashing the £11 billion a year that obesity costs the NHS.
But senior retail figures said they had been blindsided by the 'draconian' plans, which they said would add to a growing glut of red tape on business.
One called the proposals a 'nanny state' policy, while another industry source warned that the measures were being 'propelled by food propagandists' who did not believe in people taking responsibility for their own diets.
Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, said: 'Labour want the nanny state sitting in every supermarket trolley.
'You'd have thought they'd be too busy with their policy U-turns or trying to fix the economy that Reeves broke with her tax rises – but no – it sounds like the miserable socialists have their sights on every small treat in our weekly shop.'
The exact target will be agreed in talks with major retailers, but ministers are expected to push for it to be set at around 100 calories per basket – the equivalent of two cubes of butter.
It will be underpinned by a new regime of mandatory reporting, meaning large shops have to submit data on how much of each product they sell.
Under the proposals, it will be left up to supermarkets to decide how they meet the requirements. Retailers could change the recipes of own-brand products, target discount offers or award shoppers more loyalty points for choosing healthier options.
Mr Streeting warned that, without taking action, the growing cost of obesity-related care risked making the NHS 'unsustainable' in the near future.
'Obesity has doubled since the 1990s and costs our NHS £11 billion a year – triple the budget for ambulance services,' said the Health Secretary. 'Unless we curb the rising tide of cost and demand, the NHS risks becoming unsustainable.
'Through our new healthy food standard, we will make the healthy choice the easy choice, because prevention is better than cure. By shifting from sickness to prevention, we will make sure the NHS can be there for us when we need it.'
Announcing the new policy, the Government cited research estimating that cutting the average person's intake by just 50 calories a day would lift 340,000 children and two million adults out of obesity.
However, experts questioned the claim. Tom Sanders, professor emeritus of nutrition and dietetics at King's College London, said it was 'not a view that most experts in nutrition would share'.
He added: ' Tackling obesity can only be effective if it changes the obesogenic environment, which is characterised by sedentary behaviour and over-exposure to high-calorie food.'
Sir Keir Starmer will unveil the plans on Thursday after tense negotiations with supermarket bosses over the details went down to the wire. The Telegraph has been told that late on Friday officials were scrambling to drum up support for the policy after a fierce backlash.
During the talks, retail giants warned that they would oppose any measures that would hit their profit margins, which are very tight.
Shops already face significant regulation over unhealthy food, including being required to move products with high salt and sugar away from the front of stores. Supermarket chiefs are understood to privately be concerned that further regulation would force them to raise prices in stores and pause new openings.
One senior industry figure said there was no evidence that such 'draconian regulation' had helped tackle obesity, adding: 'Proponents now want to go further.'
The insider claimed the agenda was 'propelled by food propagandists' who wanted a crackdown on ultra-processed products such as sliced bread, crisps, biscuits, and ham. Another source questioned why ministers were focusing solely on supermarkets rather than also including takeaway chains and high street bakeries.
But officials said that by introducing a 'level playing field' where all businesses faced the same terms, they would avoid creating a 'first mover advantage'.
However, Tesco and Sainsbury's, two of the country's biggest chains, said they welcomed the proposals. Health campaigners also backed the move, saying that improving people's diets would help cut rates of killer conditions such as heart disease and cancer.
Allies said the Health Secretary was acutely aware of the cost of living crisis and had rejected ideas that would have pushed up costs for shoppers, having blocked more radical proposals such as banning buy one, get one free promotions or introducing new 'sin taxes' on sugary and salty goods.
The 10-year strategy will also include plans to expand the use of pharmacies to treat conditions such as obesity, asthma, high blood pressure and diabetes. They will be handed greater powers to prescribe drugs and encouraged to offer people advice on lifestyle changes and nutrition.
The changes form part of a wider drive to cut the burden of people attending GP surgeries and A&E units for relatively minor complaints. Research by the National Pharmacy Association found that six million hours of A&E time could be saved every year by redirecting patients.
It said 325,000 people had attended a hospital in 2023-24 with a sore throat or cold, whilst 18,000 went for treatment for insect bites.
Mr Streeting said: 'The nation's high streets will join the front line of NHS care, as pharmacists get far more power to prescribe and manage a range of health conditions.'